British Columbians go to the polls on October 19, 2024, to elect our next provincial government. As an organization that seeks to promote secular and progressive values, we're gearing up to ensure the candidates vying for your votes hear the voices and concerns of Humanists.

While we have several core issues to ask candidates about, we wanted feedback from our members about their priorities and what they want to see us ask. Our survey ran over two weeks and was sent to our entire membership list. Nearly 20% of our members responded. We asked two open-ended questions to get unfiltered feedback.

Member priorities

Our first question asked, “What is the most important issue for you in this election?” The responses were diverse, reflecting the multifaceted challenges faced by British Columbians. However, we also identified some common trends:

1. The urgency of climate change: Fully one-quarter of participants emphasized the importance of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. For example, one respondent passionately stated, “If we don’t take this issue seriously, nothing else will matter.”

2. Affordable housing and homelessness: Unsurprisingly, housing affordability emerged as another critical issue for more than 20% of members. One member succinctly called for “Housing as a human right” and another called for "a solution to the people who are unhoused."

3. Healthcare: The challenges to our healthcare system was another recurring theme. One respondent urged for “a move away from a fee-for-service quantity-based system to one based on quality,” while another said, "every person in BC deserves a primary health care team that is patient centered and not provider centered."

4. Secularism and equality: Finally, some respondents highlighted the importance of maintaining a secular approach to politics. One person stated, “Getting religion out of politics and the government” is crucial for equality.

Humanists are a diverse bunch and the remaining answers reflected that. Respondents highlighted affordability, the deficit and fiscal responsibility, the toxic drug crisis, and reconciliation among the other concerns they have.

Humanist questions

Secondly, we asked, “What questions or issues should the BCHA put to BC’s political parties and candidates?” Again, the answers were diverse but there was a clear consensus around several key themes. These largely mirrored the priorities identified above: People want us to ask about secularism and Humanist issues, housing and homelessness, climate change and healthcare.

Several members referenced our campaigns for legal humanist marriages, ending religious school funding and ensuring equality in healthcare. Some also wanted a general sense of a politician's support for secularism. For example, one supporter suggested asking, “How will your party address the rights of humanists and protect secular decision-making?”

Using this feedback, we'll finalize our list of questions in the coming weeks. Then, we will send those questions to the major political parties and start publishing their responses as they come in. We will also review publicly available information to help sort out where each party stands on our members' issues.

Engaging with Candidates

Like me, you may have already had candidates knocking on your doors or seen them out in your community. The election is still a few months away but there are lots of ways you can start to engage with them on the issues you care about.

1. Prepare your questions: If a candidate or volunteer stops by your door or calls you at home, be ready to ask them about the issues you care about. We'll have more materials to help with this soon but, for now, you can draw from the materials on our website.

2. Attend candidate forums: Closer to the election, local groups will start to organize candidate forums and debates. Prepare some questions to ask so you can advocate for Humanist values.

3. Reach out directly to candidates: Connect with your local candidates via email or social media. Share your concerns and ask how they plan to address key issues.

4. Volunteer: If you feel passionately about someone running in your constituency, join their campaign efforts. You can often sign up online or by calling their campaign office.

5. Vote: Encourage fellow humanists and non-religious individuals to vote. Every vote counts!

Subscribe to keep up with our work in advance of the BC election and join the BCHA today to have your say in future surveys.

Some of our analyses of the responses and an initial draft of this blog post were written with the assistance of Microsoft's Copilot AI. All outputs have been verified for accuracy before publication.

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